Sam's Blog

Link: http://www.beastieboys.com/

So I was listening to KROQ the other day and "Intergalactic" came on. I soon realized that I still knew all of the words to the song and that it's been 10 years since the song came out. Wow! I vivdly remember getting that album at the Tower Records across the street from the Vintage Faire Mall in Modesto. It was the summer after high school graduation, right before my 1st year at UCLA. The world seemed so full of possibilities and I had no cares at all. I was so excited about college and what it had to offer. I remember listening to the album "Hello Nasty" over and over that summer. I was hanging out with Erica and Brenna with all of our fun skater friends. Cruising around and hanging out with all of our friends - that's all we did. It was a great summer. Actually, it was an awesome summer - with an awesome soundtrack.

Link: http://www.sarabmusic.com

Well I've decided that I should be more active on here. I know that I will be making a lot of changes to this site. A few color and template changes are in my head and I will try to see if I can change it up by the end of the year. I am not sure if it will happen at the rate that I am going though. I feel like every time I want to write on here, I sound boring. It's not like I have tons of things to share either, but I used to come here to just give a summary of the things I do. After a while, I realized that I've just been working most of the time and then just hanging out with friends. Nothing too noteworthy, but a bit more stable. Hopefully I will get back into the rhythm of things and post here more often.

A quick overview of the things:

Got a new job - totally different type of place from my previous employment, but I've learned so much already. Always short-staffed but a great learning experience with the industry that I am in and a good test with dealing with stress.

Josh and I got engaged a few months ago! Hasn't really changed the status quo of our normal day to day activities though, which is a good thing for us right now. The wedding will be in a few years - we are not rushing into that at all. Haven't decided on one single detail of it yet.

We may move soon. Our rent keeps on going up more and more each year. I kinda want to have a place that we can all "our place" and mean it. The current apartment that we are in used to be Josh and Kurt's place, so I always think of it as such for some reason. I hate apartment hunting.

Went to New York and Chicago for work. First real official business trips and they seemed a bit rushed, but fun. I was lucky to have gone to those cities when the weather was favorable. I had an especially great time in New York. Met up with a lot of old friends and had great food and tons of fun. I miss it already - although I know that I only go there when the weather isn't too extreme. I know I can't handle humidity or cold weather, which is why I love LA.

My car is officially 1 year old. I named her Aoki. She's been so dependable and wonderful - even though we've taken her up North about 4 or 5 times and a lot of trips home and to Ventura. It's such a great car and I love it so much still!

Since I've last posted - a lot of friends have moved out of LA. It's sad to think about all at once because it is quite a lot of people that left. They left LA and went to...Ohio, San Diego, Chicago, New York, Mountain View/Palo Alto, Costa Mesa, and Colorado. Bummer that it all happened within the span of a few months, but everyone left for good causes, so I wish them well!!

Link: http://www.peterbjornandjohn.com/

Yay! Josh is back!! It's so weird how my habits have changed over 3 months. I guess I have to get used to him being home, but it's not a bad thing at all. I just have to be a bit quieter in the mornings when I get ready. We have been watching a lot of movies and just hanging out. I love having him back - I missed him so much.

In other news, I got a new job! It's a promotion but it's for a different company entirely. Although it's across the street from my current job, I know that there will be a lot of changes. I am going to have to be more responsible and have a larger role at work. It's all exciting and scary at the same time. I will miss my current coworkers. They are so great and very supportive. It was about time for me to move up from being an assistant - in my industry, the average lifespan of an assistant is 2 years - which I am a bit shy of, but only by a few months. This new company is a lot smaller on the West Coast (headquarters are in NY) and it caters to a different audience, but I am up for the challenge. I am ready to move on and learn! I start April 30th, so I am still at my old job for a few more days. I am so behind at work and am trying to catch up as much as possible before I leave. It's going to be a fun time!!

I am so glad that The Sopranos and Entourage are back. It makes Sundays more enjoyable. Nate, Mike, Josh and I are starting to go to quiz nights at a local bar after watching the shows. It's a lot of fun and we are always looking for that 5th person to join our team. I am thinking that after a few weeks, we will be at the top! Yeah!! It's so much fun!! I also like it because the bar has Strongbow on tap. That's excellent.

Nothing else to report really. My new car is doing fabulous. It has about 6,700 miles on it already (it's been 7 months) but that's only because it's been up North 3 times already. But Aoki is doing great and she is performing wonderfully.

I'm only worried about finding a new apartment in West LA. Josh and I are looking for a bigger place and I am not sure if we can find one for a comparable price. It scares me but then again, we might luck out. If you or anyone you know has a place in mind, let me know!

Link: http://www.hellogoodbye.net/

Hello Stranger.

Yes, it has been months. I guess I was suffering from too-busy-restless-writer's-block syndrome. It's been a very different couple of months. Josh has been in Luxembourg since the end of December. He will be back in a few weeks, but it has felt like a long, long time. I miss him terribly. We’ve done the long distance thing in the past – for an entire school year. But he was in Ventura and in driving distance. This time – it’s a 9 hour time difference and thousands and thousands of miles away. It has been rough, but it’s almost over! Whee!!

A lot of things have been going on lately. Another birthday passed and I am officially old. My mid-to-late twenties. Where has the time gone? I really don’t know. These past few months have been a really good experience for me. It has been a test in a lot of ways – a test of my relationship with Josh and a test of all of my friendships. It’s nice to have a lot of support from my friends. I feel truly lucky that they are around and that we are able to hang out as much as we do. I would be completely lost without them.

I went to New York for New Years and visited Kate and Amy. I had a fabulous time and I ran all over Manhattan and Brooklyn in a week. It was exhausting – but tons of fun! I love that city. I’m not sure if I can live there permanently, but a visit is definitely wonderful. I think that I will try to go back sometime this year. And depending on my work schedule, I may be going there for work in the near future. But I’m not sure about that yet. Work has been a bit overwhelming. We had massive layoffs a few weeks ago and we are understaffed. I am picking up a lot of the slack on my level and it’s starting to get a little bit better, but it’s still hard. I am currently in the process of looking for a new job – a promotion to the next step in my career. I started the process before the layoffs, but I have been on a few interviews and I am hopeful that I will find something very soon. I love my current workplace though. I love the people and the atmosphere. I will miss it if I leave. But there’s not many opportunities in my building right now and unfortunately, I may have to work at a different company. It’s not a bad thing – it’ll just make the transition a little bit harder, but I think that it will be good for me. Most people tell me that I will be back and maybe after a few years, I will be. Who knows at this point. I am just trying to do the best I can and hope that something comes up for me. Fingers crossed.

I’ve been gone for so long that I don’t know what else to write. I’m sure things will come to me slowly. I am going to try to post more. That’s a goal of mine that I’ve had for a while. I’m just now paying attention to March Madness. Go Bruins!!!

Look out New York! I'm going to be in town for New Years! Woohoo!! I'm so excited...I'm so scared!!

We beat USC today!! I've been waiting for YEARS for this moment. The last time we beat them, I was a freshman at UCLA. This also means that they are not going to the National Championships against Ohio State anymore. Woohoo!! BEST DAY EVER!!!!!!!!

I just need to name it soon. Any thoughts??

Link: http://www.snowpatrol.com/

I had a Grey's Anatomy Marathon last weekend and watched it all day Saturday in preparation for tomorrow's season premiere. I'm excited because TV is back again. It's not that I watch a lot of TV. I just watch a few shows. But I love Tivo and the fact that I can watch it anytime I want to is very appealing to me and I like the fact that I can pick and choose instead of flipping through the channels to see what is on at that moment in time. I love technology. Also back is The Office. I'm such a sucker for the Tim and Pam story on there. I know that they cannot get together and live happily ever after because it is, in fact a sitcom. So I am just along for the ride. I am liking the new show Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip even though I've only seen the pilot. It is VERY Aaron Sorkin and has a lot of elements of his old show, Sports Night, which I loved when it was on syndication. I am staying tuned for it every week and plus, there's nothing else on Monday nights anyway. I say give it a chance if you haven't already.

I saw The Last Kiss again on Friday night and it is better the second time around. Not to say that it wasn't good the first time, but I was able to observe more this time. It's such a great film and Zach Braff is fantastic! Last night, the lovely Alexis and I caught an early screening of A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. It was so intense and abstract and raw. It was so good in a painful way. I've been looking forward to it since it screened at Sundance and got a huge buzz. The cast is spectacular and Robert Downey Jr. is so intense and pensive in it. The violence scared me even though I knew a lot of it was coming. It's a great story and definitely worth watching. It should be in NY and LA next weekend and hopefully it will get a wider release a few weeks later. Please look out for it!

Not much to report here except for my most exciting news in a long long time - I'm finally going to get a new car!! Hooray!! It's taken me so long, but I am picking it up on Sunday and pictures will be posted very soon. I don't think I have ever driven a brand new car before so this will be all new to me. I can't wait!! That's about all that is going on right now. Sorry I don't have much to report.

PS - I love you M. Be strong because I know that you are stronger than you think.

Link: http://www.thekillersmusic.com/

So yes, I do love The Killers. I am glad that I can listen to the radio again and hear some decent music. There are a few new songs that I like - I don't even know who sings a lot of them, but it's nice to listen to the radio again. I do enjoy
Rocco Deluca and the Burden - a band that is signed on Kiefer Sutherland's music label. Rocco came to our office and played a few songs for the staff and it was amazing. Kiefer was there and I was able to chat with both of them. Very surreal! I also like Snow Patrol very much right now.

I have severe writer's block. It's not even that. It feels like I have a creative block overall. I stopped reading for pleasure and I haven't written much these days. I am trying to write at least a journal entry daily but even that is too much sometimes. I am writing this on my brand new laptop. It's a lot bigger than I expected (that's what she said) but it's actually perfect for me. The screen is beautiful and the touchpad allows me to scroll up and down and side to side. It's just been a pain to put everything on it like my bookmarks, Quicktime, Flash, etc. I think that it is functional now and it runs so fast and it's fabulous. I love it!

I've been sick these past few weeks. Not bedridden or anything, but just slow-moving and zombie-like due to the drugs, etc. Being the workaholic that I am, I went to work everyday but my productivity suffered a bit since I type slower and think slower on cold medicine. They say that they're non-drowsy, but my body is weird and I get loopy. I have been pretty low-key because of my it. I feel much better now, despite some slight coughing and a runny nose.

Things have been crazy at work - my counterpart is gone on his Honeymoon for 3 weeks so I have to fill in for him. It has its moments and though things haven't gotten really bad, I can see it getting worse as time goes on. I don't mind it too much because I become a lot more knowledgable of the accounts and I will eventually learn all of them. It's kinda exciting but hard work nonetheless.

I haven't posted in so long. A lot has happened. My illness left me pretty boring for a bit. I was able to hang out with folks that were visiting LA these past couple of weeks. It was awesome to see everyone together again. Felt like old times! Amy visited from NY and we went to a beach bonfire for her friend Jenny (who is like one of the smartest people I know - MIT alum and currently in grad school at Oxford). Her parents can really throw a bonfire/BBQ! They had the best food. It was nice because the Triumvirate was back together again - me, Amy, and Angela. Old roommates and great friends!

Labor Day weekend was a lot of fun. We went to The Daily Pint in celebration of Jon's birthday. I haven't seen him in a really long time and it was nice to see him and his friends again. I saw an old floormate from my freshman year there. It was so weird because I keep on running into her about once or twice a year ever since I stopped living in Dykstra. She's a cool gal but we don't know each other that well. Nate's sister Samantha was also at the bar. She comes out to LA about two or three times a year and we always have a good time. This time, her parents were in town and well but they let Nate and Samantha run free at night. The following night I went over to Mike and Matt's and we played Uno for hours and hopped over to The Well and met up with Nate and his sister and a few others and Ramona stopped by for a bit too. I am glad that she brought Dena too because I never really see her unless Ramona is in town. I hope that changes in the future because she is a wonderful person. We went to Toi afterwards and I didn't get home until about 4:30am. I didn't get to sleep until about 6:00am. Wow, I hadn't been up that late in a really really long time. The day after, Andrea had a BBQ at her parent's house. I love the entire Plato family. They are great and very warm. Nate's parents came and it was a great time with a lot of yummy carne asada.

I finally went to another UCLA football game at the Rose Bowl. It has been so so long! It was a lot of fun and I am glad that my brother and my cousin was able to join. We don't see each other that often so it was great to watch the game with them. UCLA beat Rice, but it was such a sloppy game. I hope they shape up this season! I really want us to beat USC this year. The day after, we had one of our monthly brunches. We stayed on the West side (finally!) and went to The Omelette Parlor. Such good food! The gang all stayed and we went shopping all over Main Street and 3rd Street. We ended up having dinner together as well. Of course we had to go somewhere with alcohol so we ended up at Chili's. I hadn't been in Westwood for a while so it was nice to be back. Apparently they are going to open up a Pinkberry soon and there are a whole bunch of new stores too! I forgot how fun it is. I guess it's all in the company that you're with as well.

Josh and I went and saw Idiocracy - the new Mike Judge (Office Space) film. I can't really explain it - well, maybe I can. It is an "experimental" movie that suggests that reverse Darwinism may win due to overpopulation by stupid people. It's awesome and funny and stupid all at the same time. I highly recommend it though I know some people absolutely hated it. Since it's on such limited release, I say try it if it's playing near you. I'm sure it will give you a few laughs at least.

I am tired all of the time lately. I need to organize my life and manage my time better! Oh and I finally joined Netflix. I figure it's probably cheaper than renting 2 movies a month and I can keep it as long as I want with no late fees. I hope that Josh and I have time to sit down and watch movies. We haven't been able to watch a lot of movies because we are both so busy. I will have to start a movie night!

Link: http://www.roccodeluca.com/

Most of our parents knew where they were when they found out that JFK was assassinated. They remember that exact moment in time. What they were doing. Who they were with. We joked that the only memorable thing in our time was remembering where you were when the OJ verdict was read (I was in drafting class, designing my future home). But I would never imagine something so serious would replace that. Now it is our generation's turn to remember. Although unfortunately, most of our parents were still alive five years ago to witness the attacks on the World Trade Center and they too will remember. Where were you five years ago today?

I remember that day like a dream. I had just finished Orientation a few days earlier and I was in my apartment that I was subletting from Denise. I was searching for an apartment for the upcoming school year (my senior year) with Nate and we hadn't found anything by then. I was planning to sleep in that day. I was woken up by Denise in the morning (she and I knew each other through work but we weren't too close) and I was wondering why she would wake me up so early. She told me about the attacks and we were watching footage on TV. I was half asleep. I don't think I fully comprehended what was going on. It felt like I was still in a dream. I saw the Today Show clips and thought to myself - who do I know in NY? I only knew 2 people at that point and I wasn't too close to them either. I felt so detached. I went back to bed at this point. It was too much to take in. I slept for what felt like forever and I woke up about an hour later. I got up and thought everything was a dream. Denise was still there glued to the TV. She probably thought I was very heartless for going back to sleep. I sat there and watched news coverage for hours, taking it all in. It was overwhelming. I called those I knew in NY and thankfully they were okay. My sister told me about one of our family friends that worked across the street from the WTC and she assured me that she was okay. Thank goodness. I could breathe again. All I can feel was sadness, grief, helplessness and guilt. I wanted to help but didn't know how. I knew people were slowly dying and I couldn't help. I was all the way in LA and all I can feel was sadness. I hated that they got away with it and I hated that they hated us. I knew that we weren't the best or most liked country in the world, but this showed the world that we were definitely HATED. It was an awful day.

I almost cried on the way to work this morning while listening to NPR and hearing from the families of victims. I couldn't handle it. I still am very sad every year on this day. I will never forget it. I talked to a lot of my NY counterparts at work and heard their experiences and stories about that day. Our main office is in Times Square and it was chaos everywhere that day. I can't even imagine. I just hope something like this never happens again. But with the world the way it is today - we can't be too sure and that thought absolutely terrifies me. So today, I mourn in my own private way and I know that I will never forget. I just hope that we do something good to prevent this from happening again all over the world. We need peace soon.